Breakdown by language. 6. ... How and why does the world learn languages? ... Computer. 49%. Smartphone. 26%. Tablet. 25
User Survey
2016
We surveyed nearly 45,000 Babbel users (or 44,584, to be precise) in order to find out how and why they learn. Here’s a handy overview of what we found out. Contents 1. Global overview 2. Breakdown by country 3. Breakdown by gender 4. Breakdown by age 5. Breakdown by language 6. Breakdown by occupation
Global Overview How and why does the world learn languages? What are Babbel’s most popular languages?
Why do people choose to learn a language?
English
Spanish
French
Italian
German
28%
18%
13%
13%
9%
Respondents could choose up to three motivations for this question. To communicate better when traveling
56%
For self-improvement
50%
To improve or maintain mental fitness
28%
Out of cultural interest
23%
To refresh existing language skills
20%
For a career boost
19%
A desire to live abroad one day
16%
For a partner or family member
14%
Due to currently living abroad
6%
To reconnect with one’s heritage
4%
When do people prefer to learn? 41% In the evening 24% In the morning 23% In the afternoon 7% At night 5% Around lunchtime
Which device do learners prefer to use? Computer
Smartphone
Tablet
49%
26%
25%
It’s not all about the device: research shows that, contrary to what we might think, 68% of all smartphone use happens at home.1
(1) AOL, BBDO and INSIGHTSNOW (2012) Seven Shades of Mobile: The Hidden Motivations of Mobile Users. Available at: https://advertising.aol.com/sites/advertising.aol.com/files/insights/research-reports/downloads/aol-bbdo-7-shades-mobile-abstract-final.pdf (Accessed: 19 November 2015)
Breakdown by country How do learners around the world differ from each other? Does geographic location change our reasons for learning languages? How about the way we go about it? Gender by country
60 40
Germany
47
53
UK
51 49
USA
55
45
France
Female %
51 49
45
Italy
55
Spain
44
56
Brazil
Male %
Top languages by country Germany
31%
English
27%
Spanish
27%
Italian
UK
22%
Spanish
19%
French
16%
German
USA
27%
Spanish
20%
French
17%
German
France
40%
English
18%
Spanish
15%
Italian
Italy
47%
English
18%
German
15%
Spanish
Spain
39%
English
20%
German
20%
French
Brazil
36%
English
23%
French
14%
German
Motivation by country Which countries’ users are most likely to learn a language for each of the following reasons? To communicate better when traveling
Out of cultural interest
66% Germany
31% USA
58% UK
26% UK
57% France
26% Austria
For self-improvement
To improve or maintain mental fitness
60% Brazil
42% Austria
60% Spain
35% Germany
53% France
34% Switzerland
Most organised countries What percentage of respondents learn according to a fixed routine? 56% Brazil
37% France
51% USA
34% UK
46% Spain
Most dedicated countries What percentage of respondents learn with Babbel at least once per day? 34% Spain
25% France
27% Brazil
25% USA
24% Italy
Breakdown by gender How does gender affect the way we learn languages? Note: 0.2% of our users chose to identify as “other,” rather than male or female.
Most “masculine” languages Which languages are men significantly more likely to learn than women? German
Portuguese
Russian
Most “feminine” languages Which languages are women significantly more likely to learn than men? Dutch
French
Italian
Spanish
Most gender-neutral languages Which languages are men and women equally likely to learn? Danish
English
Indonesian
Norwegian
Polish
Confidence by gender What proportion of respondents of each gender indicated that they’d be able to hold a short conversation in their chosen language within five hours of using Babbel? Women
69%
Men
67%
Motivation by gender Do language learners of different genders have different motivations? Here are the top three for each. Women
Men
57% Travel
54% Travel
48% Self-improvement
51% Self-improvement
30% Mental fitness
25% Mental fitness
Discipline by gender What percentage of respondents from each gender learn with a set routine?
Women
Men
34%
31%
Learning frequency by gender What percentage of respondents from each gender learns at least once per day?
Women
Men
25%
21%
Breakdown by age Confidence by age What proportion of respondents from each age group indicated that they’d be able to hold a short conversation in their chosen language within five hours of using Babbel? Under 18
80%
18-24
80%
25-34
72%
35-44
70%
45-54
66%
55-64
66%
65-74
64%
75 or over
61%
Learning a language in old age may seem more daunting, but we actually find that older users have “learned how to learn”: They’re over 30% more likely to consolidate their new skills with Babbel’s Review Manager, and over 50% more likely to complete these sessions.
A lifetime of learning How do our reasons for learning a language change as we get older? Each line represents a different motivation for learning a language. The paths represent the differing proportions of each age group that selected that particular motivation as relevant to them. In this way, it’s possible to get a sense of how our reasons for learning a language might change throughout a lifetime.
70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Under 18
18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65-74
75 or over
Learning for mental fitness
Learning for self-improvement
Learning for career
Learning to live abroad one day
Learning to communicate better when traveling
Breakdown by language Why do we learn one language over another? Below are the most popular learning languages for the most commonly identified motivations. Top “career” languages 47%
English
18%
German
15%
Spanish
8%
Italian
15%
French
27% of career-motivated learners in English speaking countries learn German, making it their most popular career-boosting language by a significant margin.
Top “cultural interest” languages 24%
Spanish
21%
Italian
16%
English
12%
German
37%
English
24%
Spanish
15%
French
8%
German
35%
Italian
18%
German
9%
Polish
9%
French
16%
French
17%
Italian
13%
Spanish
Top “travel” languages
Top “roots/heritage reconnection” languages
In the USA, 13% of our users learn because they want to reconnect with their roots – more than six times the global average. Many of our North American users report that they’re learning the language of ancestors who first arrived on the continent.
Top “self-improvement” languages
The languages Babbel users are most confident about learning
29%
English
22%
Spanish
15%
Italian
12%
German
15%
French
The percentages shown are the proportion of learners that said they’d feel comfortable enough to converse in their chosen language after less than five hours of using Babbel. 74%
English
72%
Swedish
69%
German
68%
Portuguese
69%
Italian
Breakdown by occupation Does occupation have an influence on learners’ motivation for picking up a new language? Top motivations by occupation What are the most common motivations for learning a language reported by respondents in each occupational category? Employees
Retirees
58% Travel
63% Travel
54% Self-improvement
48% Mental fitness
23% Career
40% Self-improvement
The self-employed
Students
57% Travel
55% Self-improvement
49% Self-improvement
39% Career boost
25% Mental fitness
38% Travel
The unemployed 54% Self-improvement 38% Travel 31% Career boost
Top languages by occupation Employees
Retirees
28% English
31% English
17% Spanish
22% Spanish
13% French
15% Italian
The self-employed
Students
28% English
20% English
18% Spanish
16% Spanish
15% French
14% German
The unemployed 34% English 16% German 15% Spanish
Confidence by occupation What proportion of each occupational category indicated that they’d be able to hold a short conversation in their chosen language within five hours of using Babbel? Student
82%
Unemployed
77%
Employed
72%
Self-employed
72%
Retired
70%
What our users say about us 73% of learners feel that they could have a short simple conversation after learning with Babbel for less than 5 hours. 97% would recommend the app to a friend.
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